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Taylor Swift on new album Red: 22 colourful quotes

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Taylor Swift's Red arrived today (Oct. 22), but fans will be seeing and hearing "Red" all week, considering T-Swizzle's interview schedule -- which included a lightning round Q&A on Good Morning America earlier today, and will feature appearances on Letterman, Ellen, The View -- never mind interviews that will run in every publication that'll talk to her, this one included.
We're sifting through it all to bring you 22 of her most memorable -- or "colourful" soundbites. Sadly, she hasn't namedropped Jake Gyllenhaal or Conor Kennedy once. But Red week is young...Handout/Universal

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Taylor Swift on her one big fear:<br>
"I think that one thing I'm really afraid of is ... that magic doesn't last," she says. "That butterflies and daydreams and love, all these things that I hold so dear, are going to leave some day. I haven't had a relationship that's lasted forever. I only know about them starting and ending. Those are my fears. I spend a lot of time balancing between faith and disbelief." (--The Guardian)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift on why she owns a Lexus SC430. (Hint: It's the same car Regina George drives in Mean Girls.)<br>
All the girls who were mean to me in middle school, like, idolised the Plastics," she explains. "I think I chose that car as a kind of rebellion against that type of girl. It was like – you guys never invited me to anything, you guys are obsessed with that car and that girl and what the Plastics wear and how they talk and you quote them all the time, but I've been working really hard every single day." She bangs both fists on the arms of her chair in frustration. "And instead of going to parties I've been writing songs and playing shows and getting these really small pay-cheques that have added up and now I get to buy a car - and guess which one I'm going to buy? The one that the girl you idolize has." (--The Guardian)Handout/Universal

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Taylor Swift on her least favourite nickname:<br>
"When I was on the Brad Paisley tour, they called me Tater Tot. ... And the name on my dressing room was changed to Tater Swift every single day! It was like being teased by your big brother."
(--Time Magazine)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift's response to the following fan question: "What in life brings a smile to your face?"<br>
"Ohmigod so much. Mostly cats. (Pause for laughter.) Mostly cats. (--Good Morning America)Handout

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Taylor Swift on why girls look up to her: <br>"It’s the message. I try to have a normal life and look at things in a normal way, under very abnormal circumstances. That’s always going to be my main goal, that’s always what I’m going to strive for, to be a normal human being. It’s interesting because you’re put in really abnormal situations. You have an abnormal-size microscope covering your life and everything you do. You look at the idea of being 22, that’s when you’re supposed to be out there living and being selfish and making mistakes and messing up. If I mess up once, it’s a headline everywhere." (--The Daily Beast)Getty Images

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Skrillex who? Taylor Swift on going dubstep:<br>
"I actually came up with the melody [for 'I Knew You Were Trouble"] on piano, and brought it to [producers] Max Martin and Shellback and said, 'I want to finish this, and I want to make it sound as chaotic as that emotion felt. I’ll sing the base line. I just want it to sound like this: poom poom poom poom poom.' And they’re like, 'maybe we can infuse a little bit of dubstep.' [...] I have listened to some of it [dubstep], ’cause I’m friends with [U.K. artist] Ed Sheeran and he would always kind of play me stuff that he listened to, what they play in the clubs in the U.K. That’s all I’ve really ever heard of dubstep. I can’t really say I’ve studied it or anything. I didn’t even know that that’s really what we were doing with the track -- I just knew I wanted it to sound a certain way. And that’s what people have been calling it." (--Time Magazine)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift on tabloid fascination: <br>
"I understand why people sometimes get so caught up with this because it's a lot of pressure. And when you see someone going through a scandal in the news, I don't sit there and see it as entertainment anymore." (--Associated Press)Handout/MuchMusic

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Taylor Swift on Grey's Anatomy:<br>
"I’ve been watching the show since it first came out. It’s the one long-term relationship that I’ve had. It’s sort of my dream to get songs on there, to have my songs playing in the background of an episode." (--The Daily Beast)Getty Images

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The one piece of advice Taylor Swift would share with the world:<br>
"I think one thing I would pass on to my kids, or my friends, or anyone who asked for advice… I think I would say, ‘Grow up one year at a time.’ That’s something I’m so glad I did. I had weird circumstances around my life and like a magnifying glass on everything I do, but still — from 16 to 22 — I feel like I’ve been those ages every year. I’ve been 16 when I was 16, 18 when I was 18, 20 when I was 20… figuring things out, not needing to be 25 that whole time.
I think it’s important to get excited about things that you’re excited about, and live life one year at a time."(--Tasteofcountry.com)Handout/Universal

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Taylor Swift on getting a tattoo:<br>
"People are always asking, ‘Would you get a tattoo?’ And I just… I don’t think I could ever commit. I don’t think I could ever commit to something permanent. So I think, no… I just… I couldn’t. If I was going to get something, it would be a 13, but I just, ugh [shuddering] — I don’t want to get a tattoo." (--Tasteofcountry.com)Handout/MuchMusic

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Taylor Swift on how awesome it is to be 22 years old (and Taylor Swift):<br>
"For me, being 22 has been my favorite year of my life. I like all the possibilities of how you're still learning, but you know enough. You still know nothing, but you know that you know nothing. You're old enough to start planning your life, but you're young enough to know there are so many unanswered questions. That brings about a carefree feeling that is sort of based on indecision and fear and a the same time letting lose. Being 22 has taught me so much." (--Billboard)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift on the only way she'll read her own press:<br>
"The only way I hear gossip is if it’s big enough and loud enough for my friends to bring it up to me. Or if it’s, like, a big untrue ordeal from my publicist -- and she hates making that phone call! But I try not to know anything that’s thought about me. It makes my life a lot more livable and a lot happier. (--Time Magazine)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift on trading country for pop:<br>
"For me, genres are a way for people to easily categorize music. But it doesn't have to define you. It doesn't have to limit you. It doesn't have to make up this kind of imaginary rule book of you can only use these instruments, you can only use this kind of song structure and you can't go anywhere near loops or big drum sounds. I love the idea of getting to paint with lots of different colors, musically." (--The Boot)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift on the things you'll never hear in a Taylor Swift song:<br>
"I don't really swear in my songs. I guess there are certain things I shy away from. I try to shy away from things that sound like they have been said too many times, or I will put a twist on them so they sound a little bit new. I think it's all about finding a new way to say something that can speak to people. It's a difficult thing to do, for sure." (--CMT)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift, on her favourite way to relax:<br> "To lay in bed with my cat and watch TV, preferably crime shows, and order food that shows up to my house. And then I eat it." (--Time Magazine)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift on why she turns to music during emotional times:<br>
"I think that when people need music the most is when they are falling in love intensely or they're falling out of love or losing love or being let down or frustrated or hurt," Swift said. "And you don't know how to say exactly how you feel and if there's a song that can hit on it and touch that exact nerve that you're feeling. It's why people are so obsessed with music." (--MTV)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift on fear of failure:<br>
"I’m always afraid of failing. I have to quiet that fear if I’m going to get up in the morning. At this point, my fear of failure lies in my fear of taking risks and my fear of taking chances or becoming boring." (--The Daily Beast)Getty Images

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If you ask Taylor Swift not to write about your break-up, she probably won't listen.<br>
"I’ve never had a guy say to me, 'I was thinking of asking you out, but I was afraid I would end up in that song.' I have had a guy say, as we were breaking up, 'You better not write a song about this.' At which point, I proceeded to write an entire album about it." (--The Daily Beast)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift on how her Red collaborators Ed Sheeran, Snow Patrol, Max Martin and Semisonic's Dan Wilson, inspire her:<br>
"The people who inspired me were the people I reached out to. You look at someone like Ed Sheeran, who comes from such a sincere place as a writer, and his songs move you in every direction emotionally. That's something I was so inspired by I ended up calling him. Snow Patrol are so absolutely dead-on, they can just hit you when they are singing about loss or longing. I have always been so fascinated by how (producer) Max Martin can just land a chorus. He comes at you and hits you and it's a chorus—all caps, with exclamation points. Dan Wilson, back to his Semisonic days, has been a huge inspiration. When your inspirations become your collaborators, it becomes something really true to the music that you like." (--Billboard)Getty Images

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Taylor Swift on the theme of new album, Red:<br>
"It's all the different ways that you have to say goodbye to someone. When you're experiencing the ups and downs of a relationship, especially when you're 22 years old, they all strike you different ways. Every different kind of missing someone, every kind of loss - it all sounds different to me. When you are missing someone, time seems to move slower and when I'm falling in love with someone, time seems to be moving faster. So I think, because time seems to move so slow when I'm sad, that's why I spend so much time writing songs about it. It seems like I have more hours in the day." (--Billboard)AP

Taylor Swift on living in the spotlight:<br> "There is a pressure to not make a mistake. I'm at an age where I'm supposed to be learning lessons, and I have to really kind of minimize the mistakes that I make because it’s important. I have these people that I count on me. That’s part of it that I’ve come to terms with.” (--Good Morning America)Getty Images

Taylor Swift‘s Red arrived today (Oct. 22), but fans will be seeing and hearing “Red” all week, considering T-Swizzle’s interview schedule — which included a lightning round Q&A on Good Morning America earlier today, and will feature appearances on Letterman, Ellen, The View — never mind interviews that will run in every publication that’ll talk to her, this one included.